New Delhi: A law course aspirant from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category has been allowed admission to the Delhi University by the Delhi High Court, which quashed its earlier order telling her to compete with general category candidates.

The court order, made available on Saturday, came on a petition by Salma Khan, who applied for admission to first year of LL.B. course in the 2011-12 academic year.

Petitioner Salma Khan, through her counsel Sitab Ali Chaudhary, appealed before the division bench against an order of a single judge bench which earlier disposed off her petition with the direction that the university would allow her to participate in the special counseling for the vacant seats but as a general category candidate.

Allowing Salma Khan's appeal, a bench of Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said: "We are unable to uphold the judgment directing the appellant belonging to the reserved category to compete with the unreserved category and which is contrary to the principles of reservation."

On Oct 3, Justice Kailash Gambhir said: "Courts have consistently held that every endeavour by the university and all other institutions should be made to fill all the seats as wastage of seats is not only at the cost of the public exchequer but at the cost of depriving a number of aspiring students struggling to get admission..."

Justice Gambhir directed the university to convert 50 OBC category seats, which were vacant since the completion of the admission process, into general category seats.

The division bench said: "As far as the apprehension expressed by the counsel for the university of the order in favour of the petitioner opening the floodgates is concerned, we find that no other candidate has filed the petition as the appellant had filed before the said 50 OBC seats were directed to be converted (into general category seats) and filled up."

"What has prevailed with us is that the Salma Khan had shown expediency and, as such, we are of the view that the order of admission of the Salma Khan would not enable any other candidate to claim parity with her," the bench said.

"We allow the appeal and direct the university to admit Salma Khan to the LL.B. first year course," the court said.

Counsel for Salma Khan said: "She will take admission in the coming week."

Chaudhary said the university did not give her admission against the vacant 50 seats, despite her qualifying in the entrance test.

Justice Gambhir passed the order on a plea by a group of students seeking direction to the university to convert the vacant OBC category seats into general category seats. IANS